#MediaMonday – Kim Steele
Every Monday, HMA introduces you to a member of the media – the new and the seasoned – that keep our local and national news gears turning.
Today we hear from Kim Steele, reporter at the Kingman Daily Miner. Kim has been in print journalism for almost 30 years, working as a writer, editor and page designer for small and large newspaper in Indiana, Illinois, Virginia, Wyoming, Texas, Tennessee and California. She also worked as a staff writer for a national dental magazine and a missionary organization in Toronto, Canada.
This year Kim moved from the cold and snow in Chicago to the sunshine in Arizona. She loves to write about people and tell their stories. She lives with her adult daughter, Emily, and four grandchildren, Alana, Ethan, Levi and Arrayah.
Kim- What would you like to share with the blogosphere today?
When I moved to Kingman in April to take a job as a reporter, I left the Indiana-side suburbs of Chicago, with its hustle and bustle, traffic congestion and scores of shopping opportunities. I grew up there, so I’m used to that busy lifestyle and I love it. I knew that Kingman is a smaller city, somewhat isolated by the mountain ranges surrounding it, but that didn’t bother me. I was ready to make the trade to be gazing at beautiful scenery in a warmer climate. And I have not regretted the choice.
I worked at the two large newspapers covering northwest Indiana while I lived there, and I was never at a loss for stories with all the activity in the area. I wondered what it would be like doing the same job in Kingman, where there is a limited supply of people and events. Had all the good stories already been written? Would the well run dry? I’m here to say that no matter where a reporter works, there’s always something interesting going on if you look for it.
Sure, Phoenix and Tucson and Flagstaff have larger story pools and bigger influences on the state and nation. But people are people, and whether it’s in little Kingman or big Phoenix, they still have dreams and goals and dark secrets to share.
Every day, my phone rings and my email dings with tips about fascinating folks and events. I can see myself mining this city for a long time. Believe it or not, there’s a lot of good to be said about covering the news in a small city. The reporting gems are right here in my own little back yard.
And the rest of the stuff — the hustle and bustle, traffic congestion and scores of shopping opportunities — are only an hour away if I want them.
